International Journal of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology

579-583

Authors: Nawaraj Gautam

Abundant freshwater resources originated from Himalayas and high geographical variations in Nepal are two factors which might be positive benefits to improve the aquaculture in land locked country. Low labor cost is also another plus point to get better management in fisheries sector. Freshwater fisheries in Nepal are mostly dominated by catch up fisheries of indigenous fish species available in rivers, lakes and paddy fields but exotic and sophisticated species been also introduced in small scales. Beside these, poly cultural pond fish farming is most viable. Carp fishes are the major species and uncontrolled unmanaged capture fisheries dominants over systematic aquaculture. Poor technological implementations, poor budgetary plan, not proper management strategies, lack of quality fish feed and fingerlins, lower market availability are some of the major challenges of Nepalese freshwater fisheries. Long-term sustainable plan, scientific and technological study on indigenous fish species, proper hygiene management and better disease control might improve the current aquaculture status of Nepal.

588-591

Authors: M. Parvathi Nandan, Vangalapati Meena

Soxhlet extraction technique is widely employed for the extraction and separation of chemical constituents in the medicinal plants. Citrus medica L commonly called as Citron belongs to family Rutaceae, is a slow-growing shrub. It is mainly cultivated for the production of edible fruits which are sour in taste like lime and lemon and the main content of a citron fruit is the thick rind, which is very adherent to the segments. From the phytochemical analysis the peel extract is rich source of phenols, flavonoids and alkaloids. The objective of present work is to develop a modelling equation for quercetin, rutin and kaempferol and the crude extract obtained by soxhlet extraction was further purified by solvent-solvent extraction and Column chromatography. Extraction was carried out by 80% methanol as a solvent Soxhlet extractor. Soxhlet extraction with methanol was carried out with varying time intervals, to evaluate modelling equation. The proposed modelling equation was Es = 0.0849(t) + 7.0286 for Quercetin and Es = 0.0912(t) + 25.971 for rutin, and Es = 0.0267(t) + 7.3714 for Kaempferol. High yield was obtained for 180min of Soxhlet extraction with 80% methanol. Yield of quercetin, rutin and kaempferol after solvent-solvent extraction and column chromatography was 22.6µg/ml, 43.7µg/ml and 10.8µg/ml respectively. The proposed model showed good agreement with the experimental data.

599-603

Authors: Krishna Kumari

Molecular techniques have become reliable and are highly suitable tools for identifying pathogen species and for genetic variation. The molecular marker is a useful tool for assessing genetic variations. RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) markers have been used to characterize the numerous filamentous fungi collected from different fields of experimental mycology. Rhizoctonia solani is a plant pathogenic fungus which cause sheath blight in rice. Present work focused on polymorphic identification and characterization of Rhizoctonia solani isolate. Twenty eight samples were collected from different locations of South India and Punjab. Rhizoctonia solani (teleomorph: Thanatephorus cucumeris) were isolated and used polymorphic examination by molecular markers. Molecular analysis was done with OPC-5, OPC-2, OPA-8 and OPA-11primers and the variability of isolated fungus DNA, allowed the visualization of 265 polymorphic bonds with molecular weight ranging from 0.5kb to 20kb significant differences in RAPD profiles of 28 isolates of R. Solani were found with two primers OPC-5 and OPC-2. To analyze the resolving ability of these primers, cumulative RAPD profiles generated by the primers were analyzed by UPGMA. The dendrogram constructed using 265 polymorphic bonds obtained from 28 isolates with 5 primers was divided into 7 clusters. Based on these results it was concluded that there was a molecular variability among the isolates of R. solani was depicted.

609-618

Authors: Azza M. Abdel-fattah, EL-Shahat H. A. Nashy, El-Tahir A. Sabiel, Manal M. Hussien, Ahmed S. Attia

Two field experiments had been conducted in Nubaria sandy soil, Behaira Governate, Egypt to show the effect of keratinase enzyme produced by the novel microbial isolate (Cyberlindnera fabianii NRC3 Aza) on plants.The trials had been conducted in the two successive summer seasons (2011/2012 and 2012/2013) to show the effect of keratinase enzyme from degraded feather–waste on the morphology and chemical composition of peas pods (Pisumsativum L.)–family Fabaceae (Leguminasae). In 2011/2012 season, only the chemical analysis of the dried powdered beads was studied. In 2012/2013 season, the morphological studies of the yield were considered beside the chemical ones. The results depicted significant effects of the sprayed enzyme (keratinase) on peas as plant growth promoting agent (PGPA), compared with the blank (sprayed with water). Electrophoreses and amino acid analysis were carried out for the characterization of the partial pure keratinase enzyme.

626-634

Authors: A.F. Mollah, M. M. Rahman, M. Z. Tareq, M.M. Hasan, A.B.M.Z. Hoque

An experiment was conducted at the Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI), Regional Station, Kishoreganj, Bangladesh during July to December 2010 and 2011 to study the effect of spacing and time of de-topping on yield and quality of kenaf seed cv. HC-95 grown under transplanting method. The experiment comprised three plant spacing (viz., 40 cm × 15 cm, 30 cm × 15 cm and 20 cm × 15 cm) and five de-topping (viz., no de-topping, de-topping at transplanting, de-topping at 15, 30 and 45 days after transplanting (DAT) in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The highest yield of kenaf seed was obtained from planting at 30 cm × 15 cm spacing. The best quality seed in respect to germination and vigour was also obtained from transplanting at 30 cm × 15 cm spacing. The highest seed yield, germination and vigour of seed were obtained for de-topped at 30 DAT. The study concludes that late season kenaf produces highest seed yield with best quality when planted at 30 cm x 15 cm spacing and for de-topping at 30 DAT.

642-650

Authors: Shipra Sharma, Sandeep Arora, Pushpa Lohani

Adverse environmental factors like drought stress result in increased levels of ROS that adversely affect the growth and productivity of plants. The alleviation of oxidative damage and increased resistance to environmental stresses is correlated with an efficient antioxidant system. Antioxidant non enzymatic system as well as enzymatic system neutralize the effects of these reactive oxygen species and help plants to survive in stress conditions. The study was carried out with the aim to understand the effect of drought on antioxidant system in seedling and vegetative stages of drought tolerant as well as sensitive genotypes of Eleusine coracana. Drought was imposed by withholding water for 8 days at seedling and vegetative stages of drought tolerant ie PRM-6107 and sensitive ie PES-400 genotypes of E. coracana. Different enzyme assays and biochemical analysis were performed in leaf samples by following the standard protocols. With the induction of drought, an increment in the level of ascorbate, flavonoid, phenol and proline was recorded in PRM-6107 whereas no significant increase was observed in PES-400. The level of these antioxidants was more in seedling stage than at vegetative stage. Similarly the level of antioxidant enzymes like ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, guaicol peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase was high in tolerant genotype as compared to sensitive genotype under unstressed condition. Under stress condition, the level of catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and guaicol peroxidase increased at seedling stage while the levels of glutathione reductase and superoxide dismutase increased significantly at vegetative stage of both the genotypes. These results show that PRM-6107 is drought tolerant because the level of antioxidants as well as antioxidative enzymes is high in this genotype in seedling and vegetative stages. Also, the elevated levels of antioxidants and antioxidative enzymes at seedling stage show that plant start combating drought more strongly at seedling stage than at vegetative stage.

655-667

Authors: Chandrama Prakash Upadhyaya, Deepak Singh Bagri, Devanshi Chandel Upadhyay

In the present study, we examined the role of ascorbic acid (AsA, vitamin C) and/or 24-epibrassinolide (EBL, an active BR) in mitigation of salt-induced stress in potato (Solanum tuberousum L). The 10-d-old plants were exposed to 150 mM NaCl and they were subsequently treated by ASA and/or EBL. The salt stress reduced significantly the plant growth, tuber yield, total chlorophyll and increased proline content and electrolyte leakage in the leaves. Toxic effects induced by salt stress were completely overcome by the combined exogenous application of AsA and EBL. The AsA and/or EBL treatments improved the growth parameters of the salt treated plants, such as shoot length, tuber number and size, fresh and dry mass and other physiological parameters. Our data also indicated that applications of AsA and EBL up-regulated the stress regulating plant hormone such as IAA, IBA and activities of the antioxidant enzymes, such as catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and under salt stress.

680-686

Authors: Mohitosh Dey, Sanjib Kumar Panda, Lingaraj Sahoo

An efficient plant regeneration system from embryogenic callus of two elite indica rice (Oryza sativa spp. indica) varieties of Northeast India, Ketokijoha and Monoharsali is established. The effect of auxin, 2,4-dicholorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) on callus induction was optimized. Friable, nodular and creamish-white embryogenic calli were induced from mature seeds on NB medium supplemented with 2.5 mg/l 2,4-D. Plants were regenerated from 40-50 days old embryogenic callus on NB medium containing 0.5 mg/l BAP (6-benzylaminopurine) and 0.25 mg/l ABA (abscisic acid). Regenerated plants with multiple tillers were rooted on half strength MS medium and rooted plants were acclimatized with 94% survival rate. Higher frequency of callus induction as well as plant regeneration was recorded in Ketokijoha as compared to Monoharsali. The calli of both the varieties were found amenable to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation as evident from strong GUS (β-glucuronidase) expression. The results may find wide application for genetic improvement for valuable traits these elite indica rice varieties of Northeast India.

692-698

Authors: N.A.M.Y. Ali, M.A.R. Sarkar, S.K. Paul

A field experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh to examine the effect of number of seedlings hill‑1 and rate and time of nitrogen application on the yield of late transplant Aman rice (cv. BR23). The experiment comprised three levels of number of seedlings hill-1 viz. 2, 4, and 6, three nitrogen rates viz. 0, 60 and 120 kg N ha-1 and three levels of time of nitrogen application viz. nitrogen application in two equal splits at 15 DAT and early tillering stage (ET); nitrogen application in three equal splits at 15 DAT, ET and panicle initiation (PI) stage; nitrogen application in four equal splits at 15 DAT, ET, PI and flowering (F) stages. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Number of effective tillers hill‑1, grain yield and straw yield were the highest when 6 seedlings were transplanted hill‑1 while all yield contributing characters, grain and straw yields were the highest at 120 kg N ha-1. In case of interaction, the highest grain yield was recorded in combination of 6 seedlings hill-1 × 120 kg N ha-1 and 120 kg N ha-1 × three times of nitrogen applications (15 DAT + ET + PI). The highest number of effective tillers hill-1 and grain yield were recorded in 6 seedlings hill-1 × 120 kg N ha-1 × three times N application (15 DAT + ET + PI) and thus this practice appears as the promising one for late transplant Aman rice ( cv. BR23) cultivation.

708-713

Authors: Yahya Hasan Hobani, Shiju Mathew, Hassan Ali Samsam

Background: Health-related issues has been one of the major factor of concern for the death since the last three decades in Saudi Arabia which includes diabetes mellitus, hypertension and other associated factors are considered as major risk factors. The investigation on the prevalence of Diabetes, Hypertension and associated factors among students of Jazan, Saudi Arabia is an alarm for the hidden possible health threat among the students in the younger age. Methods: The study aimed to assess the prevalence of Diabetes, Hypertension and associated factors in fifty students of Jazan in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected through interview using a structured questionnaire followed by clinical examination. Clinical practice methods were followed to estimate Cholesterol, Body Mass Index (BMI), weight, Diabetes and Hypertension from the sample. Results: A high percentage of participants i.e. 70% are pre diabetes, which is partly due to a more sedentary lifestyle and smoking and weight gain. 62% of participants reported no physical exercise in daily life. Habit of smoking is present among 44% of the participants over weight and obesity showed as 24% and 16% respectively. The high blood pressure among the participants was 36% and 64% were prehypertensive. Obesity and weight assessed by using Body Mass Index. The result showed 52% among the participants were in normal weight, 24% were overweight and 16% were obese. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of Smoking, physical inactivity, obesity and cholesterol level were associated with the risk of Pre-hypertension, hypertension, pre-diabetics and diabetics.

721-726

Authors: Md. Moinul Abedin Shuvo, Mohammad AL - Mamun, Tuhina Chowdhury, Nurul Absar, Md. Hasanuzzaman

Stevia rebaudiana, belongs to the family of Asteraceae, is a perennial and medicinal shrub. It’s leaves dry powder widely used as a natural sweetener which has no calories but reported to be 50– 300 times sweetener as sweet as sugar, that are said to be having insulin balancing properties without any side effects. This research was first time conducted in Bangladesh where a quantitative analysis were performed for determining the major constituents of in vitro propagated Stevia rebaudiana plant leaves dry powder that was prepared through oven dry after sun dry. The analysis revealed the powder as mild acidic (PH 5.345). Total chlorophyll contents were found to be 0.845mg% where chlorophyll–a and -b were 0.088 and 0.761 mg% respectively. The major macro nutrients such as ash, crude fiber, total carbohydrate, total protein and fat were determined at the amount of 7.05, 10.5, 53.52, 13.13 and 3.55 gm% respectively where the micro nutrients like Iron (Fe), Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Phosphorus (P) and Chloride (Cl) were found at the amount of 34.2, 184.3, 2500, 534.43, 465.34, 304.7 and 49.6 mg% accordingly. Screening for secondary metabolites showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins and tannins as the amount of 2.83, 17.20, 6.69 and 5.84 mg% respectively in dry powder. These findings also have been compared with the other reported values on Stevia from different countries of the world.

731-736

Authors: Islam K. Saeed, Fatima A. El-Rauof, H.D. Dawoud

Fruit samples of five date cultivars, three cultivars of them were introduced from Emirates Tissue culture Laboratory-Alien Abu Dhabi and cultivated in Haj-Bashir orchard - Khartoum region were collected at the beginning of the Tamar stages. The present study was aimed to investigate the physical and chemical properties. The results showed that the physical characteristics like fruit weight, length, flesh thickness, seed weight differed significantly (P < 0.05) between the various cultivars. Chemical analysis indicated small amounts of crude fiber, crude protein, Fat and ash, while sugars predominated. In general the majority of date cultivars investigated was found to be of the soft date type characterized by the dominance of reducing sugars. The performance of introduced cultivars was well when compared with the indigenous cultivar of most physical, chemical characteristics and general evaluation.

744-746

Authors: A.C. Karawita, R.C. Rajapakse, P.G.I.D. Amarasiri, R.M.T.M. Ramanayake, W.R. Jayaweera, Trent K. Bollinger, G.S.P.De.S. Gunawardena

A 25 year old female captive Asian elephant weighing approximately 3000kgs died and was subjected to a complete necropsy within 5 hours post mortem. Grossly, the elephant had sub-cutaneous edema, cecocolic intussusception and ascites. Histopathological examination revealed multifocal, granulomatous, portal phlebitis in the liver, multifocal, granulomatous, peri-portal hepatitis with marked portal and perisinusoidal fibrosis, and multifocal granulomatous colitis with intralesional Schistosoma eggs. To our knowledge, this is the first report of cecocolic intussusception in an Asian elephant associated with Schistosoma infection.